Improvement in condensing apparatus for steam-engines



ZSHeetS--SheeL -J. HUUPT. condensing Apparatus for Steam-Engines,

' `Patentedvlvlarch18,1873.

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Gundens'ingv Apparatus for Steam-Engines.

Partented Marchr18, 1873.

INVENTOR x VVITNESSES Ven-www' AM PHom-umaGmPH/c'm 1%(05/90RN5'5Pnacesg) 'UNITED` STATES PATENT rrlcn.

JOHN noUPT, or sPmNGTowN, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN coNDENslNe 'APPARATUS FOR STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 136,917, dated Mardi18, 1873.

` No. 109,616, granted to me for improvement in steam-generators, datedNovember29, 1870. The rst part of my invention consists in the peculiarconstruction and arrangement of a. comparatively large surface-cooler,in combination with the exhaust-pipe of the steam-cyl-A inder (or withthe primary jet-condenser of the same) and the secondarysurface-condens- `er of a marine steam-engine, as hereinafter set forth;the object of this part of my invention being to enable me to greatlyreduce the size or capacity, and consequently 'the cost of construction,of the secondary a-nd tertiary `condensers when the latter are used inconnection with said marine engines. Another part of my inventionconsists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of a tertiarycondenser, as hereinafter set forth, in combination with the secondarysurface-condenser of a marine steam-engine; the object of` this part ofmy invention being the production of a perfect condensation of all thesteam or vapor thatmay pass as such from the secondary condenser withwhich the said tertiary condenser communicates, and thus economize thefresh water required for keeping up the supply for the steam generatorsor boilers of the engine.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the condensing portieri of a marinesteam-engine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents that por-l tionof a marine steam-en gine having the conjoined steam-cylinder andprimary condenser patented to me November 29, 1870, before named herein.The object of presenting this figure is to show the point of connectionbetween my present invention and the conjoined steam-cylinder andprimary condenser ,of a marine steam-engine.

The surface-cooler is alarge steam-chamber, A A, the upper end of whichcommunicates,l through a long and capacious pipe, B, with the upper endof the secondary surface-condenser C G, while the lower end of saidcooler communicates, through a pipe, V,D, with the conjoined primarycondenser-and exhaust-pipe, or either of them,` of a marinesteam-engine. The said cooler AA consists of a steam-chamber proper, af,surrounded by a cold-water case, a, through which, by the action of acirculatin g-pump, E, cold sea-water is drawn into the lower part of thesaid case a, (by means of a pipe, a, which is intended to be fixedwater-tight through the side of the ship,) and forced out (as it isdrawn from the upper part of the said cooler) through a pipe, e',leading from the pump E through the side of the ship, so as to dischargethe water at a point below the surface of the sea, the dotted line xindieating the surface-line of the sea. By thus discharging the currentof cooling-water below the surface of the sea the power required to liftthe water and keep up a constant iiow upward through the cooler A is buttrifling. Attached to the pipe D there is a safetyvalve, d', adapted toopen from any extraordinary pressure of the exhaust steam entering thepipe D. At the end of the pipe B, near its point of connection with thesecondary or surface condenser C C, there is a valve, b', connected byits crank-shaft to any suitable moving part of the engine, so that itwill be nearly closed during the first part of each puff of the exhauststeam entering the cooler A, and gradually opened immediately afterward.The object of this valve b and of the large extent and capacity of thepipe B is, first, to prevent the steam from being driven, by the forceof said puEs, down through the secondary condenser C 0, or further, andthus prevent its condensation; and, second, to allow the exhaust steamample room to expand, and cause a steady and nearly uniform flow ofsteam from the cooler into the condenser C (l. The secondary condenser CGis of the ordinary construction, excepting that it is smaller, and has,comparatively, a much less number of the cooling-pipes, set furtherapart'from each otheran advantage derived from the presence of thesurface-cooler A A--whereby the .exhaust steam passing through thelatter is reduced in temperature and pressure before it enters thecondenser. The water or cooling pipes c c', open at both ends, projectthrough a steam-chamber, c, so as to communicate freely with the wholeinterior of an inclosing water chamber or case, cf, which is kept fullysupplied with cold sea-waterby means of a circulating-pump, 4, whichdraws the said cold water (through a pipe, 5, which communicates withthe sea through the side of the ship) into the condenser and forces itoverboard. A valve-chamber, o0, providedv y with a -spring-valve,communicates with the upper part of the interior of the water-case cf,and serves as an air-chamber and reliefvalve in preventing any improperstrain upon the joints of the said condenser by the action of thecirculating-pump 4. The steam-conducting pipe B communicates with theinterior of the steam-chamber c through the side of the ship (not shown)into the sea, from whence the required cold water is drawn by the actionof the circulating-pump 4, upward through the pipe 7, which forms thecommunication between the two cold-water cases j" and c" of therespective condensers C and F. The pipe f has an adjustable cock, 8,whereby the current of water passing upward through the case f iscontrolled or regulated as to quantity at the pleasure of the engineer.The pipe 6 has an adjustable cock, 9, whereby the engineer can, atpleasure, prevent an excess ot' steam from getting down into thetertiary condenser F and blowing out, instead of being condensed thereinas required. There is also an adjustable cock, 10, in. the water-pipe 5,which mainly supplies the condenser O C, so that the current of waterpassing through the said pipe can be regulated as to quantity at thepleasure of the engineer, and the cold water for either or bothcondensers C and F be acquired through either or both said pipes 5 andf, as the requirements of both or either may render proper.

It will be evident that the cooler A A will greatly reduce thetemperature of the exhaust steam entering it, and that in connectionwith the long capacious pipe B the said steam will be allowed to expand,and by the action of the valve b be prevented from entering thesecondary condenser in puffs, and acting together that the cooled andexpanded steam will enter the said condenser in a steady or uniform andcontinuous manner. Another advantage derived, which is of importance inmarine steamers especially, is that the eX- tended pipe B permits thecondensers to be located at any distant point in the ship from thesteam-cylinder. It will also be evident that, during the operation of amarine steamengine having the tertiary condenser F arranged and attachedas described in relation to the secondary or surface condenser U C, anysteam which may as such pass down 4through the pipe 6 will be mostcertainly condensed in the spiral coils within the coldwater case f',and pass out as fresh water into the hot Well G, from which the boilersof the engine are to be supplied during the operation of the latter; andthat the great re-` duction in the size and in the number of the `pipesof the secondary condenser (permitted by the intervention of cooler andexpander A A between the said condenser and the steamcylinder of theengine) will proportionately.

reduce the cost of the original construction of the surface-condensersfor marine steamengines; and also that the reduced size and more simpleconstruction of the tertiary con. denser F F will render it less costlyand more .durable than the tertiary condenser described constructed andarranged to operate together substantially as and for the purposehereinbefore described and set forth.

JOHN HOUPT.

Witnesses BENJ. MoRIsoN, WM. H. MoRIsoN.

